te sɛ (Like)

Like, Resemble: Te Sɛ

Level 3

Ɔte sɛ ne maame means She is like her mother. Ɔkasa sɛ Asanteni means He speaks like an Asante person.

How It Works

1. Te sɛ: be like
Subject + te sɛ + the thing compared.

  • Ɔte sɛ ne maame. (She is like her mother.)
  • Ɔnte sɛ ne nua. (He is not like his brother.)

The negative puts N- on te: ɔnte. The same verb is in Isn't It So? ɛnte saa?

2. No past ending
Te is a state verb, so it has no past ending. For the past, put Past States With na in front: Na ɔte sɛ ne papa (He was like his father). See State Verbs in the Present.

3. Sɛ after another verb
When the sentence already has an action verb, add sɛ alone for like or as: Ɔkasa sɛ Asanteni (He speaks like an Asante person).

4. Such as
Before a list of examples, te sɛ means such as: Mepɛ nnuaba te sɛ kwadu ne akutu (I like fruits such as bananas and oranges).

5. Look-alike words

  • sɛ as a verb on its own means resemble: Mesɛ me maame (I resemble my mother).
  • sɛn (how), with an n: Wo ho te sɛn? (How are you?). See How: sɛn.
  • saa (so, like that): Ɛte saa (It is so). See So, Like That: saa.
  • That: sɛ joins a clause, as in Menim sɛ ... (I know that ...).

Examples (6)

  1. Ɔte sɛ ne maame.

    She is like her mother.

    Word by Word: she-is like her mother

  2. Ɔnte sɛ ne nua.

    He is not like his brother.

    Nua means brother or sister; the context tells you which.

  3. Na ɔte sɛ ne papa.

    He was like his father.

    Na puts the state in the past; te itself does not change.

  4. Ɔkasa sɛ Asanteni.

    He speaks like an Asante person.

    Word by Word: he-speaks like Asante-person

    Kasa (speak) is the action, so sɛ alone is enough.

  5. Mepɛ nnuaba te sɛ kwadu ne akutu.

    I like fruits such as bananas and oranges.

    Before a list, te sɛ means such as.

  6. Mesɛ me maame.

    I resemble my mother.

    Here sɛ is the verb resemble, with its own subject prefix.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing sɛn (how) instead of sɛ (like).

    Ɔte sɛn ne maame.
    Ɔte sɛ ne maame.

    Te sɛn means how is, as in Wo ho te sɛn? To say is like, write sɛ with no n.

  • Giving te a past ending.

    Ɔtee sɛ ne maame.
    Na ɔte sɛ ne maame.

    The intended meaning is She was like her mother. Te is a state verb, so the past uses na in front. Tee is the past of te in the sense hear.

Words in This Pattern